Safety panel-box.



H. F. yKRANTZ.

SAFETY PANEL Box.- APPLYH-JYON FILED SEPT. .V ISIS Patented-Dec. 9,199.

H. F, KRANTZ. 9

SAFETY PANEL BOX. APPLICAUQN man s'EPT. e. 191s. y 1,324,555., PatentedDee. 9,1919. SHEETS-SHEET 2.

The switch mechanism is substantially the f same as that illustrated inthe above mentioned patent and copending application, and as more fullyshown and described in my Patent Number 1,292,805, dated Jan. 28, 1919.It' comprises a swinging double ended blade 27 adapted to be swungr bythe handle 24 for moving its opposite ends into and out of electricalengagement with the main line contacts 23 and the branch line contacts29.

A toggle 30 is interposed between the handle and the blade adapted tohold the blade on when the toggle is made and to permit the blade tomove oft under the impulse of a suitable spring, as 31, when the toggleis broken.

The branch line contacts are mounted upon an insulating base 32 which isfixed to the bottom wall 1 of the box and which also Vcarries suitablefuse clips 33 ttor supporting fuses 34- in association with the branchline contacts and in a position of accessibility when the hinged section9 ot the front wall is swung open.

The main line contacts 23 are carried upon the under surface of aninsulating block 35 which is in turn supported by a bridge piece H whichextends .between the side walls 2 near the upper edge of said sidewalls. The bridge piece H is preferably of sheet metal and is providedwith end flanges 3G lying flat against the inner surface ot the sideValls and rigidly connected thereto by suitable rivets or the like` as3T.

The insulating block 35 may be connected to the bridge piece in anysuitable manner and serves as stitening means tor the in termediateportion ot' the bridge piece. The bridge piece t-hus constitutes a.rigid and etlicient brace and reintorcemei'it 'for the side wallscapable ot' holding them in a liXed and predetermined position relativeto each other so that the screw receiving apertures 18 and 19 of the topwall and oi the brackets 20 properly mate with each other at all times.yThe bridge piece prevents any bowing or bending ot' the upper edge.portion ot the side walls out ot' proper relation to each other. whichbowing or bending'might be occasioned by inaccuracyv ot manufacture orby rough handling. ln thisI connection it should be noted that duringrmanufacture, while the apertures 13 in the main section 8 may, otcourse.` readily be spaced a fixed dista-nce 'from cach other, vet theapertures '19 which must mate with the apertures 18 in a.pre-deterniined position accordingto whether or not the side walls standtrue and accurate. @ne ot the side walls may be bent inwardly to aslightly greater extent than the other. This would prevent propermat-incr of the apertures. The bridge piece H, for carrying the mainline contacts, however, 1s ot a fixed length may, or may not be and whenfixed between. the side walls it positivelyA spaces the apertures 19 sothat they correctly mate with the apertures 18o The use of the bridgepiece., as a means to support the main line contacts, is very etlecftive since the bridge piece not only conveniently supports said contactsin a proper position for cooperation with the switch blade but it also,together with the insulating block 35, constitutes a uard member oversaid contacts att-er the tront wall' has been removed. Accidentalengagement of an operatorie hand, after the trent wall has been removed,with the live main line contacts, is thus to a large extent prevented.

In order to increase the safety afforded by the bridge piece to the mainline contacts, said contacts preferably have their outer end portions,as 42., 'bent downwardly so as to support the wire terminals 43 in amore protected position.

A plunger 38 is formed as a part of the switch mechanism7 beingpreferably connected to the heel of the toggle as at 39 so that when thetoggle moves on the plunger is while when the toggle This projectedoutwardly, moves ol-lm the plunger is withdrawn. plunger said latch'from the switch mechanism inthe saine manner as fully shown anddescribed in connection with my patent and application above referredto, namely, to cause the latch to stand in latching position wheneverthe switch is on and to cause ott movement ot the switch whenever thelatch is unlatched. i c

A semi-circular retaining disk 41 is also provided upon lthe hingedsection, or door 9 concentric with the hinge 1G adapted to travel intothe path ot movement of the plunger 38 when the door is opened, thus toprevent on"` movement of the switch while the door is opened. in thesamemanner as shown and described in my pending application Serial No.158,957 above referred to.

It will be seen that since the main line contacts areinatixed positionin front ot' the blades 27, said blades and contacts, when the switch ison, cooperate to prevent. detachment ot' the front walleven after thescrews 12 and 1G have been removed.

lt should be also pointed out that the dangers 11` upon the two sectionsot the liront wall serve to prevent any shitting of the front wall withrespect te the remainder of cooperates with a link t() which isconnected with the latch 21 tor operating.

co'nstructioriljy without departing from the scope ofthd'ginvention asdefined in the following claims, it is intended that all mattercontainedv in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings, shall be interpietedas illustrative only and not in a limitingsense.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is A device of the class described comprising abox having opposite side and end walls and having a removable frontwall,

removable retaining means interengaging between the front wall and theopposite side walls to retain the front wallI in position, stiifeningmeans'for said side walls extending therebetween adjacent' saidretaining means for the purpose described, and said stieningmeans-beingof a character to suping carried and supported by said brace.

3. A panel box comprising opposite side walls spaced apart, a frontwall, retaining means for the front' wall interengaging between thefront wall and Said opposite side walls, switch mechanism within thebox, a contact within 4the box for coperating with the switch mechanism,and means for said contact of a character to hold said side walls inposition to facilitate application of said front wall retaining means.

4. A panel box comprising opposite side walls spaced apart, a frontwall, switch mechanism within thebx, the front wall havin aperturesformed therethrolgh and the side walls having parts providing aperturesintended to mate the a'peituresof the front wall whereby to receiveretaining vmeans for the iront wall through.s aid mating apertures,switch mechanism within thebox, a contact with which the switchmechanism coperates, and a support for said coni tact comprising meansto retain the side walls in position with said apertures mating. 5. Apanel box comprising a piece of sheet material bent into il crosssection to provide a bottom wall and opposite side walls, a separatelformed front wall adapted to be conn necte to said side walls, saidfront wall'and side walls providingpmts having apertures intended tomate with each other for receiving the front wall retaining meanstheresupporting cooperates, and a support for said contactl comprisingmeans extending between and connected to the side walls near their upperedges whereby to hold said side walls in position with the aperturesthereof adapted to mate the apertures of the front wall.

6. A device of -the classdescribed comprising a box having a removableWall, a

switch mechanism within the box, a contact also within the box withwhich the switch mechanism is adapted to coperate, and a supportV forsaid contact ixedf within the box in a .position intermediate saidcontact and said removable wall so as to serve as port for. said Contactdisposed to serve as A guard means for the contact when said removableywall is removed, the box having also opposite side walls, said supportincluding a bridge piece extending between and reinforcing saidsidewalls relative to each other, and an insulating block with which thecontact is directly connected, said. insulating block being fixed to andreinforcing the bridge piece.

8. ln a device of the class described, a switch device including aswitch blade element, an operating element for the switch blade elementand a contact element with which the switch blade element coperates, abox for saidelements, said box having opposite side walls spaced apart,and a brace extending between said sidezwalls to reinforce said sidewalls and serving as a supporting means for atleast one of said switchdevice elements.

9. In a device of the class described, a switch device including aswitchblade element, an operatin element for the switch blade element an acontact element with which the switch blade element coperates, a box forsaid elements, saidbox having opposits side walls spaced apart, a braceextending between said side walls to reinforce said side wallsand-serving as a supporting means for at least one of said switch deviceelements, said box also having a removable front wall, and said bracebeino mounted independently of said front wa support the mentionedswitch device element irrespective of the removal of said front wall.

10. A device of the class described comprising a box having a removablewall, a switch device within the box made up of a switch blade element,an operating element for the switch blade element and a contact elementwith which the switch blade eleiis ment coperaties, and a support forone of In testimony whereof I ex my Signature sald switch devlceelements Xed 'Wlthln the 1n the presence of two w1tnesses-` box in aaosition intermediate Said Inentoned elenllent and said removable Wallso HUBERT F' KRANTZ' as to serve as guax'd means for, said nlen-Witnesses:

tioned element when said removable wall BERTHA HEROLD,

is removed. MABEL D. SALTER.

